


Sports and Swords

by teikouarc



Category: Original Work
Genre: M/M, fan persona 6
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:20:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24199636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teikouarc/pseuds/teikouarc
Summary: Fantasy AU for FP6.Kotaro and Takeo and the two times they met for the first time.
Relationships: Kotaro/Takeo (fp6), Miyu & Eiji (fp6)
Comments: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ☆☆ HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARI ☆☆
> 
> I may have written this but it was very kindly and thoroughly edited by xenon! this lil thing is its work too c:
> 
> I'll probably end up keeping all my fantasy au drabbles here ! might be good to have a collection because I've been having fun writing this stuff >:)

The thing about being a knight that a lot of people didn’t realize is that skill is almost secondary to blood. Sure, you were expected to reach a certain standard, but, even if you weren’t all that skillful, if you were born to the right parents it was still easy to find yourself in a cushy palace position, kept safe by stone walls and the knowledge that you were set for life.

Takeo’s father was one of those “right” parents, but Takeo didn’t intend to sit back and let his father’s standing determine his life’s course. Takeo would never deny that it was that standing that would allow him to become a knight in the first place, but he would do his damndest to carve out his own place in their world.

It was with this perhaps naive ambition that Takeo entered his formal training period at the age of 14. He had always been a sporty child and was bursting with an enthusiasm and energy that his peers couldn’t quite match, so he was a natural fit for the task. Despite his preparations, his eyes were blown wide with wonder the first time he stepped into the palace’s inner courtyard used by the guard.

As the tutor began to go over footwork and proper stances with Takeo and his fellow trainees, movement from one of the covered walkways surrounding the courtyard caught Takeo’s eye. Looking up, his eyes met directly with those of the Prince. The two of them locked gazes for what felt like forever. He had never seen the Prince in person before - far too dangerous for the young boy to be going around meeting the village folk, Takeo reasoned. The lengths the King went to to ensure the Prince’s protection were admirable, and soon enough Takeo would be part of that system!

Remembering himself, Takeo gasped and quickly broke eye contact, lowering his head respectfully. When Takeo glanced back up, the Prince almost looked disappointed, but he turned away without any further regard for the knight in training.

Takeo was left to ponder the meaning of that look while his tutor berated him for not paying attention to the lesson.

***

A year later found Takeo being thrown into a low wall with a grunt.

“Ah! Sorry, sorry--” Akane looked mortified as she leaned over to help him stand back up. “I didn’t realize you were that off balance, I--”

Takeo cut her off with a light hearted laugh. “Relax, Ueda, I’m totally fine! You couldn’t kill me that easily!” Regardless, he took her arm, and, once he was upright, held onto her shoulder as he did a quick survey of his body. Neck was a little sore, and he’d probably have a decent bruise on his back in a few hours, but other than that he was doing great! He rolled his shoulders and shook out his arms. “Let’s go again! One of these days I’m gonna win one of these, I swear to--”

“Your Highness!” Akane greeted, looking over Takeo’s shoulder and quickly bowing. Takeo reflexively turned on his heel and mimicked her display. After counting out the appropriate beats in his mind, he straightened to look at Prince Kotaro.

He was leaning forward against the wall Takeo had just been thrown into, looking at the two of them with amusement. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say this knight-in-training has you putting in more hours than usual, Ueda. Aren’t you supposed to _rest_ at some point?” Takeo felt his ears burning at the little smile the Prince gave him before refocusing on Akane.

Akane just shrugged. “He’s enthusiastic. That’s good, right?”

“ _He’s_ standing right here and can hear you talking about him.” Takeo mumbled, earning a smack to the head.

The Prince seemed to find that _very_ funny, and hid a chuckle behind a hand. “I’m not entirely sure what being thrown against a wall teaches someone, but at least you’re having fun?”

Takeo was made aware of two facts in the course of that conversation.

  1. The Prince had an unfairly cute laugh.
  2. The Prince’s smile was equally charming.



He supposed royalty should be like this; beautiful in a way that seemed as natural as breathing. Charismatic, and all that. So, really, it was just natural that his heart picked up its pace the way it did.

Shouts from down a hallway had the Prince’s face losing its levity. He gave a long suffering sigh, and shared an exhausted look with Akane. “I’ll suppose that means my tutors finally realized I’m not in my room reading about naval procedures.” He waved a hand and stood up straight. “Hopefully we’ll see each other again soon, Ueda and... “ The Prince looked at Takeo expectantly.

“Oh. Oh! Takeo, my name is Takeo.”

“Takeo.” He smiled, and he gave Takeo a good long look, as if evaluating him. “You’ll never beat her at that rate, you know.” And he was off, walking back towards the yelling from earlier.

“Was that--?”

“I think the Prince just checked you out.” Akane offered, as if it were a simple matter.

“Huh.” Maybe it could be.

***

Another year passed, and with it many more of those stolen moments with the Prince and Akane. It turned out the Prince was pretty cool, and was also _definitely_ flirting with Takeo, which was an interesting development. Takeo didn’t have a ton of time to really think about the implications of that, with his training amping up significantly as he got older.

Despite that, it was enough time for him to develop a pretty serious crush on the other boy. In the beginning he attempted to feel ashamed of it - just imagine the SCANDAL if it got out that a knight-in-training had the audacity to think about stealing kisses from the Prince in dark hallways - but ultimately he just couldn’t make himself think it was wrong. It wasn’t as if anything would really come of this - Takeo had seen the Prince flirting with at least one other boy, after all. That wasn’t bad of course, and in fact had made Takeo feel a lot better about the whole thing. He could have his crush and the world wouldn’t collapse around him.

One day, word came around that the Prince had snuck out of the castle, and Takeo was one of the people they sent out to try and find him. He had only been searching for an hour or so when he peeked around a building and saw a familiar tuft of curly hair poking out from behind a barrel. He stifled a laugh and glanced around to make sure no one spotted him slipping back there as well, and sat down next to the Prince, who jumped a little at the sudden intrusion.

“Running away from lessons again, Your Highness?” Takeo whispered conspiratorially from behind their barrels.

The Prince gave him an unimpressed look. “Been sent to drag me back, then? Annoying... You could’ve had the decency to give me a little longer at least.”

Takeo hummed. “Yeah, I was sent to find you. Me ‘n a few others.” He turned his head to really look at the Prince, and saw a guarded frustration there. He was reminded of a panicked cat he had once seen, cornered by children who were trying to poke at it with sticks. “But hey, maybe it took me another hour or two to find you.”

The Prince seemed taken aback by that, and quirked a suspicious eyebrow at him. “Meaning...?”

Takeo shrugged. “Meaning if you need a little more time, my house is nearby and you can hide out there for a little longer if you want. I may not know exactly what made you run away in the first place, but I do know everyone needs a break sometimes. I don’t see the harm in you having a little longer to just, I dunno. Breathe?”

Prince Kotaro continued to stare at him, but his gaze softened significantly. It wasn’t the bright smile Takeo had gotten used to seeing over the past year - in fact, it wasn’t a smile at all. It was an even, considering look that somehow felt more real than any Takeo had seen previously. No act or protective layer, just a tired look from someone who had been pushed a little too hard. The Prince sighed and rested his forehead in his crossed arms, and quietly nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’d really appreciate that, Takeo. Thank you.”

***

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

The Prince, sitting on Takeo’s bed, all heavy limbs and exhaustion, just shrugged. “I mean, no offense, but I don’t think you’d exactly be able to help with any of it?” Which was fair. Sure, they had spoken quite a few times, and some might even call them friends, but that didn’t mean that Takeo could actually relate to the Prince’s problems.

“None taken. But if you ever feel like complaining, you can. I may not be able to help or even really understand, but I can listen. No pressure, though, Your Highness,” Takeo added quickly. The Prince’s lips curled a little at that and he plopped back onto the bed with a huff.

“See, that’s part of it! I’m just _the Prince_ to all of you, and it just…” A frustrated noise fills in the rest of that sentence. “Even when there’s a chance for any kind of real connection, that wall just comes up. Your words and intentions are pretty enough, but I’m just your _duty._ ” He hissed the last word out like it was dirty, and it stung in a way Takeo wouldn’t have expected.

“You’re not just my duty! That’s--I genuinely like being around you, and I would even if you weren’t my Prince!” Was that how the Prince saw it? That this was just Takeo doing his job? Well, it kinda _was_ , but--No. Yeah, the Prince kinda had a point there. Takeo ran a hand through his short hair and scowled. The Prince felt like all his relationships were fake, including theirs. So, fixing that could be simple enough.

Takeo nudged the other boys’ knee until he sat up to look at him again. “Let’s start over, then. In this room, I’m not a knight-in-training, and you’re not the Prince. Okay?” He held out his hand and gave him a big, toothy smile. “Hi! It’s nice to meet you. My name is Takeo. I like sports and swords.”

The Prince stared at his hand for a moment before laughing, finally smiling again. He took the hand and shook it. “Hi, Takeo. My name is Kotaro. I like cute dogs and art. I hope we’ll get along.” The two of them shared a quiet grin before breaking out in laughter.

“Sports and swords, huh? Here I was wondering if there was some big secret in your life, or if maybe you had more interests, but I guess being a knight is kind of perfect for you, huh?” Kotaro teased.

“Not all of us are complex people, you know! Plus, it let me meet you, so I think it’s fine,” Takeo said. And if Kotaro’s cheeks flushed at that response, it was no one’s business but their own.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> another drabble in the same fp6 fantasy au!

Kotaro hauled Takeo back to his home and practically threw his knight onto the first table they found.

"Idiot!" He scrambled to find bandages while Takeo watched in amusement.

"Really, your Highness? It's barely a scratch." He began to push himself up on his good arm. "You don't have to worry this m--"

His sentence was cut off abruptly as Kotaro returned and pushed him none too gently back down onto the table. He looked. Pissed. Takeo decided that staying put was a good move.

Kotaro pushed up Takeo's sleeve to start bandaging the slash in his bicep. It had been a while since someone had tried their hand at harming the prince, but luckily Takeo never really let his guard down as much as he pretended he did.

"I would have been fine, you know." Kotaro muttered as he pulled the fabric tight around the injury. "I /can/ take care of myself."

Aside from a slight wheeze at the pressure on his arm, Takeo handled it like a champ. He gave Kotaro a smile. "Yeah, I know. But hey, a guy can't help but give into reflex sometimes."

Some of the stiffness in Kotaro's shoulders melted away as he returned the smile.

"Besides," Takeo continued, his expression softening with fondness. He lifted his good hand to rest against his prince's cheek. "I don't wanna see you hurt."

Kotaro's cheeks got warm, but he ignored that and raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I don't want to see you hurt either."

Takeo brought his hand back down and waved that off. "I've had worse from a cat! This is nothing. I've already forgotten about it."

"Well, I guess you don't need me anymore then!" Kotaro stood up quickly, a teasing lilt in his voice. Takeo laughed.

"Nooo, my Prince, I lied! I'm going to die of this! The only thing that can save me is love's true kiss. Please, you must save me!" He flopped a hand onto his forehead dramatically to punctuate the act.

Kotaro snorted. "Careful, my father might dismiss you if he heard you say that."

"That's fair. But would you at least give me one kiss before I had to leave?"

"Oh my /god/--" Their laughter mingled together sweetly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> once again... kotakeo fantasy au

"Honestly Takeo, you're lucky you don't have to attend balls. It's usually just a bunch of old men playing politics, or dancing with people I'd rather not, or both."

Kotaro sighed as the door to Takeo's home shut behind them. He loved getting away from... all of it, but the crowds in the town sometimes felt suffocating. It was quiet here, and had always felt so comfortable.

Takeo didn't clean nearly as much as he should, and there was often a fine layer of dust over everything, but Kotaro could overlook it for all the stolen moments they had shared there. He breathed in the homey smell, and couldn't help but smile.

Takeo sat down on the edge of his bed and stared at the floor. Normally the conversation would've flowed easily, but for some reason, he was staying quiet. He looked unusually solemn, and that Kotaro's shoulders stiffen, a small hint of panic settling over him. Had he said something wrong?

Takeo shifted, one hand settling on his bed, and the other gripping lightly at his shirt.

"...I'm jealous."

Kotaro blinked in confusion. What?

Takeo huffed and his face twisted a bit in discomfort. "I wish I was allowed to go. I wish I was allowed to dance with you."

"Oh." Kotaro's voice was soft. His shoulders relaxed and he went to sit next to Takeo. He gently turned Takeo's hand over and laced their fingers together. "If... if you would like... We could dance now...?"

Takeo met Kotaro's gaze, and the vulnerability in his eyes made Kotaro's breath catch. He smiled softly, a smile so vastly different than the bright toothy ones he was used to. Takeo nodded.

"I would like that."

He allowed Kotaro to guide him, standing up and mimicking his stance. Kotaro placed one of Takeo's hands on his shoulder, and placed his own on Takeo's waist. Their other hands were still laced together.

"Just follow my steps, okay?"

Kotaro began slowly dancing them around the small space, twilight slanting through the windows. Takeo wasn't a professional dancer by any means, but he watched Kotaro's feet carefully, following his lead. It was endearing, seeing him try so hard to learn. But Kotaro didn't want Takeo looking at their feet.

He led them into a slow turn, and shifted his grip on Takeo's hand and moved his other hand to a move supportive position on his back, and eased his partner into a dip.

Takeo breathed in quickly at the sudden change, his eyes jumping up to meet Kotaro's. His face burned, the red dusting across his cheeks practically glowing. His mouth hung slightly open, and his eyes were wide. He looked at Kotaro like he was someone special. Not just because he was a prince, just... Him.

Suddenly overwhelmed, he brought Takeo back up and pressed his face into Takeo's shoulder, the dance over. Takeo let out a shaky breath, and hugged Kotaro close to him.

"You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen." Takeo whispered as the room darkened around them. Kotaro gripped the back of Takeo's shirt.

"I think you'll be the death of me." Kotaro managed to breath out shakily, his heart beating wildly.

"I hope not. I want to live a long life, with you. Is that too much to ask for, Kotaro?" Hearing his name instead of a title made him almost want to cry. He shook his head against his shoulder.

"No, it's not too much. It's perfect."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> miyu perspective from the canon universe, towards the end of fp6

Isami and Yoshiaki were gone.

It stung. It hurt enough to make Miyu physically wince. But she couldn't think about them. They were weak, and the writing had been on the walls for a while now. Trusting them was a mistake she thought bitterly as she rushed into the student council room.

"Miyu!" A familiar voice cried out from down the hallway, and before she could close the door, Eiji pushed his way in. His chest was rising and falling rapidly with quick breaths and she guessed he had been chasing after her.

Miyu clenched her jaw and kept her back to Eiji, not able to look at him.

"Miyu, we have to talk about this. Th-- That was--"

A surge of panic soared through her and she turned sharply and screamed. "No we don't!"

Eiji looked like he had been slapped, but Miyu couldn't stop herself.

"No, Eiji! We don't need to talk about anything!" She felt whatever was left of her composure crumble into little, tiny pieces. "Nothing has changed! There is nothing to talk about!"

Eiji gaped at her, his eyes wide. He sounded choked. "You can't be serious. Miyu? Are you serious??"

The tense silence that settled between them was answer enough. Eiji looked like he might cry.

"Someone DIED Miyu. And it's our fault!" His voice shook. "We got someone killed."

Something passed over Miyu's face, and she was cold. The panicked anger was gone, and a stony expression had replaced it. "People die every day."

Eiji looked like he was going to be sick. Miyu told herself she didn't care. The look he gave her--it would have been better if he looked at her like a stranger. But he didn't. He looked at her like he had always known but hadn't wanted to be right. Like he had hoped she was better than what she was. She didn't care.

He shook his head slowly at her, and took a step backward. She didn't care.

He turned quickly and ran out of the room. She didn't care.

The door shut heavily behind him, with a finality that made Miyu's heart ache.

She didn't care. She didn't care. She didn't care.

She collapsed into a chair and wished that she could cry.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> miyu musings from the canonical fp6 universe

Miyu expected many things. She was a schemer, and a good one at that. Nearly all of her actions were calculated over and over to assure that everything turned out exactly to plan. 

Hiro had always been part of those plans. She sensed something… similar between the two of them. In a way that, were they different people, would likely make them friends. But, luckily, they were both distant. Miyu needed allies, but the cost of becoming too close to someone was far too high. All that considered, Hiro was a safe bet for her team. 

Eiji, however, had not been part of her plan. 

Miyu made a point of knowing Shori's student body as well as she could, so she had known that Eiji attended Shori. It wasn’t surprising considering they both came from families obsessed with appearance and social standing for him to be at the new and prestigious school, so she had never thought much about it. They had been assigned as each other’s friends as children. They would gravitate towards each other at parties or other various functions and stay out of the adults' way as much as they could. It wasn’t a bad friendship, but it was a forced one. They had, of course, fallen out of contact once their individual schedules got busier. He shouldn’t have been anything more than a fleeting memory she caught glimpses of in Shori's halls. 

Needless to say, Miyu had been caught off guard when she discovered the liminal space after Hiro's was Eiji's. The childhood friend who was only ever meant to be a memory was once again pushed into her life. She was even more caught off guard when, after some time together, she realized that she genuinely liked Eiji Tatsuki. 

The wall that she built up around her heart after Kazuko grew a bit weaker the longer she spent with him and the rest of their team. It should have been more concerning than it was to her. Companionship was fragile, and when it broke it felt like you would never get past it. That pain would be with you forever, and that cost greatly outweighed the risk of getting close to others. 

But… maybe, just maybe, if she was more careful than she had been with Kazuko, it wouldn’t have to end. If she just thought through every action, if she were able to make it so her… friends could not leave, then she wouldn’t have to go through that again. 

Hiro had always been part of her plan. He was easy to plan around, and she could predict his actions with a fair amount of accuracy. 

Eiji hadn’t been, and he had thrown many of Miyu's carefully laid plans out the window. But, he would always help her make new ones.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some uhhhhh melodramatic bullshit ft. kazuko and miyu (canonverse)

When the dust settled, Kazuko looked through the dim space towards Miyu, who was on her hands and knees and trembling. 

After everything she had done, no one wanted to approach her, despite some of the things that had come to light during the course of her liminal space. Forgiveness didn’t come that easily, after all. But with all her memories restored, Kazuko couldn’t ignore the painful tugging at her heart the image caused. 

She took a step towards Miyu and the sound made the girl jerk. When Kazuko didn’t stop, Miyu looked up, her face panic stricken and streaked with tears. 

“No, no, don’t—you can’t come over here!” Her voice was strained and she pushed herself back, trying to create distance that Kazuko ignored. 

“Why?” 

“You—you just shouldn’t! Just leave me here! Go home!” The calm and collected Miyu that Kazuko had come to know was nowhere to be found now. She just… looked scared. 

Kazuko shook their head and knelt down in front of Miyu. “No. I don’t want to leave.” 

Miyu's expression grew more pained and she hit the ground weakly with her fist. “You have to. I hurt you, Kazuko! All I do is hurt people! Just leave!” 

Kazuko gritted their teeth, a flash of emotion darkening their eyes before they leaned forward and hugged Miyu tightly. “But I hurt you too, right?” 

Kazuko had learned a lot in the past year. They made mistakes… Some bigger than others. The memories from their time in Miyu's home were so vivid, and the look on her face that they had missed back then made their heart ache. They had been so focused on what they wanted and they had trampled on her feelings. The similarities between her face then and Wataru's right after they had told him about Satsuki… they made Kazuko's grip on their sister tighten. 

“What you did was wrong, Miyu. But I--" Kazuko's voice broke. “I wanted you to come with me, you know? I wanted to experience all this with you. I’m sorry I didn’t say that to you then! I should have said it!” 

Miyu’s sobs racked her body, but at some point she had raised her hands to clutch at Kazuko's shirt. “I’m so sorry, Kazuko. I love you so much. I’m so sorry!” 

Kazuko continued to hold Miyu as she repeatedly apologized until her sobs began to even out and eventually die down. Maybe Kazuko couldn’t wipe Miyu’s slate clean, maybe she couldn’t wash the blood off of their of their hands, but for now? For now she could hold her sister.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wataru drabble from canonverse

Wataru's breaths came out in short bursts as he ran through Morimoto. These were the same streets he had walked his entire life and he knew them like the back of his hand. He rushed around a corner and remembered the time he had been walking Satsuki to preschool and they had tripped and scraped their knee on that very sidewalk. 

Every inch of that town had Satsuki in it, and that thought made him run faster. 

He had spent the past year in limbo, unable to make a decision between his two lives. He wanted both of them so badly, and didn’t want to sacrifice either. But now? Now he would throw it all away in a second if it meant he could see Satsuki happy and safe again. 

The whole thing seemed so trivial now. Acting was important to him, of course, but Satsuki had always been more important. Always. He had known that on some level, but now he felt so guilty that it had taken something like this for him to truly understand that. Why had Satsuki needed to disappear for him to realize exactly how important they were to him? How could he have ever called himself a good older brother like that? Maybe that was why Satsuki had come to hate him so much. His half-assed convictions only made everything worse. 

His chest was starting to ache when he finally reached the park Kazuko had told him about. The small area was tucked just outside their neighborhood, and they would always cross through it on their way home from school. They had done it so many times that Wataru could easily imagine Satsuki walking home from cram school, the path once familiar and safe turning inside out and trapping them in darkness. 

The sun had set while he ran, and the streetlights illuminated the park, shining off the metal bits on the playground. There was a heavy feeling in the air that made Wataru's stomach lurch. 

“I’m coming, Satsuki.” 

He didn’t know how he would, but he would get into that shadow world even if he had to tear a hole in time and space itself. 

It turned out to be much easier than that. The area seemed to… acknowledge that he knew about the liminal space. His eye caught on a slight distortion in the air by the slide, and knew he had found it. 

It was as easy as walking through a doorway. The place welcomed him, eager to have a new visitor. The darkness here was so much deeper than the night he had left behind. It felt heavier too, somehow.


End file.
